Involuntary Addiction
by TayMor
Summary: Her hair was pink. Of all the colours she could have chosen, did she have to choose the most obnoxious, immature colour? It mattered not that Itachi was insanely tempted to touch the pink strands of hair; he did not approve. So why then does he find her irresistible? AU. ItaSaku
1. Chapter 1

**There was a lovely response to the SasuHina ****_I Wish You Would Look at Me_**** so this is the sequel to it. However, there is a twist. The two stories will run alongside each other on a similar timeline, but whereas the first story is a Sasuke POV, this will be an Itachi POV. If you like this, it won't be a one-shot, so I really hope you like.**

* * *

Her hair was pink. Of all the colours she could have chosen, did she have to choose the most obnoxious, immature colour? It mattered not that Itachi was insanely tempted to touch the pink strands of hair; he did not approve. Her presence at his side was disconcerting, which was a feeling Itachi was unused to, and he found that he despised it greatly. At least she was ignoring him, sprawled out on the sofa to his right, her face hidden behind a magazine. If she had been trying to get his attention, Itachi was unsure of what his reaction might be. Still, Itachi was displeased with the lack of attention she was paying to him… and it annoyed him that he was displeased.

He tried not to notice her tanned arms which looked firm and toned. She was a drummer. Which female was a drummer? Could she even pick a _less_ ladylike occupation? Drumming? Really? Itachi did **_not_** approve. Itachi wondered how Team 7, his little brother's band, had gotten to the level of fame that it had with _her_ for a drummer. He found himself being disinclined to believe that she was any good. It must be Sasuke's superb voice and Uchiha aura that had gotten the band through.

Currently, Itachi was in the Team 7 lounge on floor seven of the Konoha Imperial Studio. He had been released into the civilian world just a couple hours before, and had come to the studio anxious to see his brother.

* * *

_Itachi pushed open the door to the Konoha Imperial Studio and relished the cool breeze from the air-conditioning. There hadn't been much of that on the front lines of the Konoha Military. Still, it was good to be back home, away from the war with Iwa and back on civilian territory. Itachi took a deep breath. He wanted to see Sasuke… he missed his little brother._

_The receptionist at the desk looked up at him and an expression of pure feminine appreciation graced her pretty features. Itachi allowed himself to smile, if only inwardly. He'd missed that too. There was a strict no fraternization policy in the KM, for good reasons. Itachi missed feminine graces and company… but he mostly missed his brother._

_"Good morning, how may I help you?" the receptionist said, her smile widening as he approached the desk. He stopped in front the desk and blinked at her, forcing his mind not to scan her like he had been trained to do. As of today, he was a civilian!_

_"Good morning," he returned. "I'm looking for Uchiha Sasuke from Team 7," he continued. The receptionist smiled._

_"I am not sure if Uchiha-san is in yet, but I can take your name and send you to the lounge," she continued. _

_"Uchiha Itachi," he said, hiding a smile. He most likely didn't need to give a name, but maybe something would come of it._

_"Uchiha-san! Oh, you must be Sasuke-san's big brother! Take the elevator to the seventh floor and the lounge should be right off the elevator and through the glass door. Sasuke-san should be here quite soon." Itachi nodded at her chirp and moved towards the elevator. When Itachi reached the seventh floor, the first sound that greeted his ears, apart from the elevator music, was a loud female voice._

* * *

"How long did you serve in the war with Iwa?" Itachi was pulled from his musings by the voice of the other occupant of the lounge. He turned slightly to the left to face her. Now _this _was a lady, with sensible yet beautiful dark-blue hair and respectful grey eyes… not those fiery green ones that adorned the face of-

"Six years," Itachi replied shortly, slightly unused to being questioned by a civilian… he was a civilian now so he should try to get used to it… to conversation. As a solo operative and a sniper in the war with Iwa, Itachi was acquainted with bloodshed and death and tears and lack of conversation… not with talking and questions and _pink hair._ Itachi gave himself a mental shake. He was finished with the war for now… and he missed his little brother. Itachi found his eyes sliding back to his other side as the pink-haired drummer turned a page in her magazine.

_'She has the ideal proportions for my tastes, but…' _Itachi's thoughts were interrupted by the drummer who was occupying his thoughts.

"Staring is rude, bastard," she snapped, lowering her magazine to glare at him over the top. Her eyes were green fire. Itachi did not reply, finding it interesting to look at her. She dropped her open magazine to her stomach and returned the stare. Itachi allowed himself an inward smirk and waited for the feminine appreciation to light her eyes. Nothing happened. She scowled and picked up her magazine, and then resumed ignoring him. Itachi frowned.

"What was it like? Or is that something you don't want to remember?" the blue-haired woman to his left asked, the second question a mere whisper. Itachi valued her sensitivity even as he squelched a minor flashback. He leveled a stare at her and she nodded softly in understanding. "Well, then what did you look forward to most?"

"Sasuke," Itachi replied. This woman was safe. He wasn't tempted to do anything. He didn't feel anything, and he immediately felt somewhat comfortable… unthreatened. She blinked then, and Itachi was suddenly aware that-

"You suck at conversation, don't you?" the pink-haired woman to his right sneered, completing his thought. She rolled her eyes and turned a page. Itachi was pleased to know that she seemed to be following the conversation; maybe she wasn't ignoring him, as he had originally thought. However, what she said was a bit insulting even though he had been thinking the same thing, not that he would allow her to find out.

"Hn," he grunted in annoyance. A harsh chuckle burst from her lips, causing his eyes to widen almost imperceptibly in surprise. Had he done something funny?

"And that apathetic thing seems to run in the family. It's less cool, and more pathetic," she muttered, turning another page. Itachi was displeased, and he slowly became aware of the frown that was pulling his brows together. He turned to the other woman, the one with the blue hair, and allowed his face to relax again. He could act… _civilian_ right? He slid his arm over the back of her chair and removed the Konoha Military formal hair tie from his hair, feeling the light weight of his hair as it spread over the shoulders of his flak jacket.

"Your name, woman," he requested, unconscious of the way it sounded more like a demand than the question he had intended. However, she blushed prettily and ducked her head. The woman on his right snickered. Itachi frowned.

"Hyuuga Hinata, Itachi-san. Nice to meet you," Hinata returned, shaking his rough hand in her soft one.

"How do you know my name?" he questioned, his face unmoving.

"Sasuke-kun talks about you sometimes," she responded, blinking slowly.

"Rarely," the pink-haired drummer grunted from behind her magazine. Itachi frowned. She annoyed him, and that meant she was getting under his skin… it had only been about twenty minutes since he had met her and already she was… what she said suddenly registered.

_'Sasuke doesn't talk about me?' _ The thought wasn't a nice one… He turned to Hinata and inclined his head towards the pink-haired female on the couch.

"That's Haruno Sakura," Hinata supplied helpfully. Sakura, huh? That sort of explained her scent… cherry blossom fragranced perfume or lotion or something of the sort. He liked i- No. He did _not_ like that scent.

"Come for drinks with me after Sasuke gets here… unless… are you a part of the band?"

"Okay," Hinata said in response to his invitation, which was more of a demand than anything else. Itachi should have felt some satisfaction at her ready response, but instead, his eyes and attention drifted to _Sakura… _who was still reading. He was thankful for the swishing of the glass door as it opened, for it prompted him to look up and investigate the identity of the newest arrival to the room.

Sasuke.

His little brother, clad in tight black jeans , a grey T-shirt with the arms fashionably sawed off and his trademark hairstyle was standing by the door, glaring at him. In Sasuke language, Itachi supposed, that meant that Sasuke was glad to see him but was too 'cool' to show it any other way… cool tinged with a bit of the Uchiha way… they weren't a family that spent much time expressing affection.

"Little brother," Itachi said in greeting, pretty sure Sasuke could see the smile he was transmitting via his eyes. Sasuke scowled darker than before.

"Hn," Sasuke grunted in acknowledgement, and Itachi felt a bit of pride that Sasuke had copied his non-communicative grunt. He'd taught Sasuke to say that. Itachi rose from the chair, sliding his arm from the back of Hinata's chair and walking over to Sasuke.

"How have you been?" Itachi questioned, his gaze scanning over his brother. He seemed-

"Fine." The curt reply burst from lips that had been compressed into a hard line.

"Hn," Itachi returned as he approached Sasuke and his glower. He stopped in front of Sasuke and leaned forward. "Smile, little brother. I'm finally home now," he said, smiling, and then he poked Sasuke in the forehead just like he had done when they were younger. Sasuke only scowled in response, but the slight relaxation of his stance made Itachi aware that Sasuke remembered. "Hinata, are you ready?" Itachi said to Hinata when Sasuke stormed past him. He watched as Sasuke froze when Hinata swept past him and allowed Itachi to take her hand. Well, well.

* * *

Hinata was a really nice person, but what would it be like if it was Sakura on this date with him? He felt nothing when it came to Hinata, even though she was very ladylike and he quite approved of her composure and temperament, from what he could see of it. It was just… there seemed to be no spark… no fire. He liked fire.

"Sasuke told me about you on a date we went on, though he didn't say much," she was saying, dipping her spoon into her bowl of soup.

"Hn," Itachi grunted… then he heard the words Sakura had said to him earlier about his conversational skills and felt his eyebrow twitch. Damn her… and her pink hair. "I have pictures of him… from when he was a baby," he added, wondering if talking like this was considered protocol in civilian conversations. Her face brightened up.

"Really? Please, can I see them?" Itachi reached into his flak jacket and pulled out the small leather journal he kept with him always. He opened it and slid out a small assortment of photographs then began laying them on the table. "Ohh, you guys were so cute! What was he like as a kid?" Hinata gushed, her eyes sparkling when she looked at the pictures.

"He was a little crybaby… but I loved him," Itachi managed. A flash of pink to his left had him swiveling his head to see if, perchance, Sakura had followed them. It wasn't her. Of course not. They talked about Sasuke a lot more; Hinata seemed to like his little brother quite a lot. They had been on a date already, and Itachi suddenly got the feeling that Sasuke must really like this girl, from the way he had frozen at the KIS.

* * *

Itachi woke up with a start sometime the next night when his cellular phone rang and blinked rapidly to clear his head. He'd been dreaming… about pink hair. It had been everywhere; on his chest, in his face, in his hair, in his mouth, and those green eyes had been staring at him… and the scent of cherry blossoms had assailed his senses. His heart was still pounding; not too rapidly, but not quite slowly either, and he was a bit turned on. The phone had started its shrill cry before the dream had gotten anywhere too dangerous. Itachi ran his hands through his waist-length black hair that was slightly tangled due to the sweat on his chest and his tossing and turning. He had allowed it to grow out during his time in Iwa… there was no real reason why, and he liked his silent rebellion from his normal analytic, slightly methodical modus operandi. His plain white sheet had tangled around his legs and he kicked sharply to free them from the constriction.

The phone stopped ringing. Itachi looked at the screen and saw the message saying he had a missed call from an unknown number. That ruled out trying to call it back. Itachi got up and pulled his laptop from the desk next to his bed and set it on his lap. He opened the web browser.

Google Search: Team 7 band

The light from the computer screen caused his eyes to squeeze shut as he entered the search. The pages on his brother's band filled the screen. Itachi scanned the summaries that were displayed then chose the Team 7 music video for _Thunderstorm. _The scenes in the video switched to scenes containing each of the band members. It was Sakura's section that caught him.

_She taps her booted left foot at the side of her stool. The camera flashes to her pink-hued hair and she nods her head. Her engaging green eyes stare into the camera and then the camera zooms out. She is in a white room with a clear drumset, the bass drum containing a miniature thunderstorm inside it. She begins to slap the drums, water jumping from the surface of the drums with each hit, causing her hair to cling to her face and lips… parted lips. The walls of the room fall away and she is slamming her drums in the middle of a freeway. The sky empties its contents on her, and white lightning streaks across the sky behind her. Her dress clings to her body and her pink hair darkens and seems to twine around her pale throat. The scene changes to Kakashi…_

Itachi frowned, suddenly realizing his heart is thudding in his chest. He pulls the progress tracker back to the beginning of her scene and watched it again… and again… and again. He changed the video to a Team 7 interview, marveling at how the sound of her voice made him feel restless even though it seemed he couldn't stop watching her, hearing her… he had smelled her, and now he wanted to fulfill the other the other senses. He would be patient. He was a sniper… he could be patient… watch his target, and she when she wanted him as much as he wanted her, he would make her wait… so that she wanted him more.

He wanted her... but he couldn't bring himself to care or fight anymore… because he would take control of himself. He'd been in a war, and he was done with it, and he didn't want to fight anymore. Nothing he did was against his will, so if his body craved her, it would get her. He would see to that. It mattered not what she thought because he was patient enough and confident that he could make it so that she wanted him too. He had formed an involuntary addiction to _Sakura, _Itachi realized as he downloaded a particularly body-warming image of her off the internet. The best part was… _he liked it_.

* * *

**Oho! Sorry so short! So my direction for this story changed mid-chapter haha! I really hope you like it! I will follow the similar process as I have with ****_I Wish You Would Look at Me_**** and am therefore not really creating a plot, rather going off whatever you guys want. If you came to this from the SasuHina, THANK YOU! If you haven't yet read the SasuHina, please do! A lot of what happens in this story might be explained in this story as we go along, and vice versa! Love you guys bunches! Please review!**

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	2. Chapter 2

**So, someone commented and compared Itachi to a stalker… fu fu fu… as I had been typing it, I was thinking the same thing! Knowing Itachi though, he wouldn't even see it that way, but rather a strategy to get something he decided he wanted. In essence, the things I might have him do may come across as stalker-esque, but I hope it will be more humorous than creepy!**

* * *

She was hiding something.

Itachi was positive. He'd only been watching a couple of hours, but it was apparent that Sakura was hiding something. He would find out what it was, he just wasn't sure when. His eyes narrowed and he tapped the cover of the magazine he was pretending to read contemplatively. She was standing with Kakashi and Naruto on the other side of the room, talking in low tones. Every couple of seconds, she would send a furtive glance to the lounge door that opened into the foyer that housed the elevator. Who was she looking for? Her gaze slid around the room, landing on him for a fraction of a second before darting back to the door. In less than a second, her gaze was back on him, and then a frown darkened her features, only making her look a bit more sexy than she had several seconds before. Itachi raised one brow in anticipation of whatever her next reaction would be.

"It's rude to stare," she snapped, stalking over to him and planting her hands on her black jeans encased hips, her legs slightly parted. Itachi lowered the magazine and his eyes flickered from her stormy green eyes to her black fingernails. He allowed his gaze to slide _very_ slowly down her legs and to her white heeled converse-clad feet. Damn, she had great legs. He smirked when he looked back into her eyes which were narrowed in annoyance.

"Afraid I will see something you're trying to hide?" Itachi asked, staring blankly at her, while he was carefully watching for her response, and forcing his eyes to stay on her face. Her eyes narrowed and she pressed her lips together. She was going to deny hiding anything and _of course _that was not true… blah blah blah… Itachi was already rolling his eyes inwardly.

"Of course I'm hiding something, you dolt. Who isn't? Not that I'm going to be letting you find out anytime soon. Not until it would serve a purpose anyway," she snapped, her defensive stance changing to one of confidence. Itachi was, needless to say, surprised. Well this was different to what he expected! "I know back in Iwa you must have needed to stare things down all the time, but this is the civilian world now, and it's rude… so don't do it," she muttered after a huff, running her fingers through her pink hair.

_'She really has a lovely physique,'_ he thought, inwardly appreciating her stature. She was just short enough to be cute, but tall enough and curvy enough to be recognized as a woman; even though her chest was not large, not even the size of Hinata's, she was by no means flat-chested… and besides, she more than made up for it with her legs. Itachi liked legs… which meant that her outfit today was making it a bit hard for his concentration, but he supposed he could make up for it at a later date when she wore something a bit more concealing than those tight black jeans shorts and black tube top.

"Hn," was all he said, and watched with a small inward grin of satisfaction when her eyebrow twitched in annoyance. He wondered how fun it would be to get her all riled up, but figured that right here, right now was probably not the best time. After all, he wanted no spectators to that scene. "Besides," he continued, "I was not staring… merely pondering the information in this very interesting article on the Eiffel Tower. Did you know that the tower is six inches shorter in the wintertime?" he asked as if speaking about the weather. Sakura frowned and rolled her eyes in exasperation.

She was about to walk off when Kakashi sidled up to them, his eyes sliding over her behind.

"Nice," he murmured, one eyebrow raised and his eyes dark with pure masculine appreciation, and something else. Itachi felt his forehead tighten with a frown. Apparently Sakura was not the only one that had to be watched, since this Kakashi guy seemed to be interested in the drummer as well. Itachi was by no means going to rush in his pursuit of Sakura, but that didn't mean he wanted some other guy to be infringing on his territory either. Right, _his_ territory, because sooner or later, she would be his… he was going to make it so. Itachi was not so presumptuous as to think he would or could ever force her to be interested in him, because that would be pathetic, and besides, his pride as a man alone demanded that she be interested in her by her own choice, hence the watching. He would know her so well, she would be drawn to him… if he could manage to hold out long enough, his plan would be flawless.

_'I need to know her reactions to everyone around her,' _Itachi thought, watching as she grinned at the band leader's blatant flirtation. Itachi frowned when she leaned back to check out the rear of the silver-haired guitarist.

"Yours ain't too bad either," she returned, grinning in amusement.

_'She is the most unpredictable specimen of a woman I have ever come across,'_ Itachi thought, frowning. Was that what women were like nowadays? Had he been at war too long to realize the changes? War. Itachi grit his teeth at the unwelcome thought that threatened to push even Sakura from his mind. War. The things he had done while at war haunted him. Giving himself an inward shake away from his thoughts, Itachi forced himself to peruse his newfound competition.

Hatake Kakashi was not a threat, he decided. The man had the worst hair Itachi had ever seen, quite unlike his admittedly beautiful black hair, and was high ranked in Itachi's list of people with extremely bad postures. Kakashi was nowhere near as well built as Itachi was, and hid the lower half of his face with a black mesh half mask that extended from his chest to neck. Itachi surmised that the man was most likely scarred or deformed, and wore the mask to look even half decent for the public. Itachi couldn't fault the man, since it was a smart approach to take. One of the most pathetic things about Kakashi that Itachi had noted previously was his disgusting attachment to porn.

_'Anyone that engrossed by photographs of naked women is just pathetic,'_ Itachi thought with a hint of pride. Of course, it would take much more than a picture of a woman on a glossed page to induce any reaction in himself… and he knew this because he had already tried it. It had become obvious to him years ago that his sensual side was activated by touch, rather than sight, unlike the majority of the masculine population. Sure, it made a difference if the woman was attractive or not, because, well, he had standards, but a bombshell that couldn't excite him by touch was of no use whatsoever. Similarly, someone with no good looks whatsoever might be good at touching him, but the lack of attraction to her physically would decrease the excitement considerably. He was close, but he wasn't perfect. It displeased him a small bit that someone with no good looks would have no luck with him at all, but really, what he sought was some sort of balance between looks and ability to excite via touch. In his defense, he would take a plain girl with a plain body and nice legs rather than a gorgeous woman plastered over a magazine page any day. He would also take a plain girl, with nice legs and some fire rather than a gorgeous woman with no personality. That would just bore him. Fortunately for him, Sakura was very attractive, though he had yet to experience her touch, though he surmised that his attraction to her would aid the effects of the imminent touch very much.

"So, you free tonight?" Kakashi asked, slinging his arm over Sakura's shoulder. The move dragged Itachi from his mental ramblings. It did not please him at all. She had better not be free tonight.

"Sure, I'm free," Sakura returned, grinning. Itachi frowned.

"Actually, Sakura, _we_ have plans," Itachi said, rising from the sofa he had been sitting on and removing Kakashi's arm from Sakura's shoulders with his thumb and index finger. He leveled a blank stare at Kakashi whose eyes darted from Sakura to Itachi, and back again. Sakura stiffened beside Itachi and spun to face him, her eyes blazing. He was not quite sure what possessed him to say what he'd said, since there was no such plan for the night, but Kakashi's attentions to his target were very much unwanted by him.

"What the hell, Uchiha?" she snapped, pressing her palm to his chest and giving a shove. She used tremendous force, but Itachi's body did not move any at all. He stared down at her, eyes slightly narrowed. He was about to reply when the lounge door swished open and Sai stormed into the room, a patch of bruised skin over his eye. His hands were shoved into his pockets and he had a glower of frustration and torment on his face. He stalked right through the lounge without looking or speaking to anyone. Sakura's hand fell from Itachi's chest, her fingertips brushing lightly down his front. Itachi stiffened at the rush of pleasure the light touch brought.

_'Not good,'_ Itachi thought, frowning slightly at the reaction her touch had caused. It had been unplanned for that the warm pressure of her hand on his chest, or the feathery touch of her fingertips as her hand fell from his body would have sent small shivers of pleasure rippling down his spine… enough to make his back jerk if even only slightly. He wanted more. He had no problem wanting more, really, it was just it was unprecedented that he would want so much more _so soon_.

"What was up with that?" Sakura continued, her annoyance with Itachi obviously forgotten for the moment, while turning to look at the door Sai had just disappeared into. In turning, her shoulder bumped into Itachi's chest, the contact warming him a bit. _'This is bloody ridiculous,'_ Itachi thought in self disgust. It stood to reason the touch of the woman he was interested in would affect him more than that of other women, but so much more was bordering on ludicrousness… if the touch of somewhere as un-erogenous as her shoulder… Itachi paused mid thought to look at the bare shoulder in question…

_'Ugh… that is definitely a nice shoulder,'_ he found himself thinking. His eyes were suddenly glued to the curve of her tanned shoulder, where wisps of her pink hair lay in choppy layers. He could even see tiny freckles on the very edge of the otherwise even toned skin of her shoulder… he could imagine himself kissing each and every one of them- _'What the hell is wrong with me? This is supposed to be gradual, damn it!' _ Itachi thought with a frown. _'I will have to either avoid touching her at all, or take an early break from observing her tendencies and reactions until I can get myself under control,'_ he mused in annoyance at the way this was turning out. It peeved him to think of _not_ touching her at all, because now that he knew he shouldn't, he wanted to more than ever.

Itachi was pulled out of his thoughts by the distinct feeling that he was alone. How long had he stood there thinking about touching or not touching Sakura? Itachi looked around to the lounge to see that he was indeed alone. Itachi moved to the recording room, since that was where the other occupants of the room had most likely gone to. He was right, the strains of instruments being tuned caught his attention, and he entered the recording room, taking a quiet post at the corner of the room where Sakura was in full view. _'Where is Sasuke?' _Itachi wondered randomly, noticing his brother's absence. He slid his gaze to his watch and noticed that his usually punctual brother was over an hour late.

"We'll just have to start practicing without him," Kakashi moaned, totally unused to being there before any of the other band members; he was usually the last one, or so Naruto had told Itachi earlier. That, fortunately for Itachi, was another bad feature of the silver-haired band leader… no one liked someone who was always tardy. He smirked. "He knows the majority of the chords already," Kakashi groused, reluctantly tucking his miniature porn book into his back pocket. Itachi grimaced in disgust… the man was seriously pathetic.

Sai took his place at the piano, and ran through some warm up scales. Since he was the vocalist for the song they were doing the upcoming Saturday, Sasuke wasn't needed at the moment anyway. Sakura began slapping the sticks together for the count-off. Itachi frowned at the expression on her face. She looked worried about something, but what? Nevertheless, the group started the song, and after several false starts and restarts, they had a pretty good sound, minus Sasuke's guitar. Itachi kept running possible scenarios that could explain Sasuke's tardiness in his mind, but none that came to mind stuck. Sasuke was never late. The thought had just run through Itachi's mind when the door burst open and Sasuke entered.

Itachi was slightly baffled at his brother's appearance. Though well dressed as usual, his brother's skin was not as pristine as it usually was, that is, he had been beaten! His eyes were dark and purple from bruising, and there were several cuts to his cheeks. Then, there were red marks dotting his neck and as large a smile as could be expected of him on his face. In his eyes, however, was a mixture of satisfaction, annoyance, and impatience… a curious mixture in Itachi's estimation.

"I got… _caught up_," Sasuke explained in his usual soft tone while pulling his guitar over his shoulder, and joining in mid song, with flawless timing. Itachi felt pride slide through him at his brother's obvious expertise with the guitar. A mixture of concern and surprise showed in the faces of the Team 7 members, but Sai barely looked up… rather, he _avoided _looking up. Itachi felt his eyes narrow. Had they had a fight? Over what? Before he even asked himself the question, he knew the answer. Hinata, obviously. Itachi frowned again. _'Why the hell does Sasuke look more beaten up than Sai does?' _Itachi looked toward the derby-wearing pianist with new eyes, attempting to appraise the usually silent man. Sure enough, Sai's body language and build, though barely discernible or noticeable, told him that Sai was capable of much more than he looked like he was. It wasn't like Sasuke to underestimate an opponent, but had he in this case? Itachi stayed silent, however, containing his thoughts. He would find out later.

* * *

Itachi swallowed uncomfortably when Sakura shifted at his side in the back of Sai's convertible. She was pressing against him in an attempt to make space for Kakashi to fit beside her in the already full car. She turned to face him, and rolled her eyes impatiently.

"Wha-?" Itachi managed before she reached over and lifted his arm, sliding easily beneath it and freeing up a couple more inches of car seat for Kakashi to fit into. Team 7 had decided they were going to go to grab some beers and batter-fried chicken at one of their favorite pubs after the practice. Sasuke had not come along with them, because he had left the KIS mid-practice with no explanation and had not yet returned. Itachi felt a shiver of warm, electric pleasure slide down his stomach at the sensation of her pressed so closely against his side. Kakashi slid in next to Sakura and flung his arm over the back of the seat. Itachi would have taken the front seat had Naruto not already seated himself there. Unfortunately for his self control, he was stuck in the back with Sakura, who was pressed up against his side with Kakashi on her other side. He turned his face to the other side, facing the road so she wouldn't see how disconcerted he was by how close she was to him. Still, his heartbeat had accelerated. Something bumped his leg, and even as he was telling himself not to look… he looked, and his stomach dropped at the sight of her long tanned leg rubbing against his. _'Damn those legs,' _Itachi cursed inwardly. He needed to take a break from her… he needed to get himself in order and under control. She felt so warm and soft and _female_ next to him, and Itachi knew he enjoyed the feeling too much to be his usual impervious self if it continued for too long. This would only mess up his plan by putting him in a position where he was likely to say something he shouldn't or act too fast and wreck his plan altogether.

"Sai," he said, proud that he managed to keep his voice flat and even. "Drop me off at my place. I have something I need to take care of." Itachi knew himself, and so he knew that the way he was feeling now would weaken his resolve the longer he subjected himself to it… which meant he had to escape the situation as soon as was possible without doing serious damage to his image. He didn't miss how Kakashi didn't seem to mind sliding his leg alongside Sakura's… There was no way he was going home after seeing that!

"Eh… Scratch that, Sai," he said, frowning inwardly, while he knew his face was its usual impassive mask.

Twenty minutes later, Itachi was beginning to regret his decision. Did she _have_ to eat like that? Really, the chicken and the sauce that had come along with it were really good, but was all that moaning necessary? He accidentally swallowed a particularly large bite of chicken when she stuck her sauce covered middle finger into her mouth and sucked the sauce off with an appreciative groan. Itachi, whose mind had fled to another scene where she was making the same sounds for an altogether different reason, felt heat shoot to his lower stomach and the chicken leg in his hand wobbled as the muscles in his forearm went a bit weak.

_'Kami, that sound,'_ Itachi sighed inwardly, a shiver going through him, even as he noticed that he was not the only one affected by Sakura's eating habits, for Kakashi looked like he had swallowed his tongue. As if he wasn't in enough torment, Naruto decided he needed to get out of the booth to go to get more beer, and Sakura shifted to allow him passage. The action caused her knees to bump against the insides of Itachi's, sending warmth slithering up and down his leg. He barely avoided choking on the meat in his throat. The act of skill in keeping his need to choke at bay was short lived, for Sakura chose that moment to put a beer bottle to her lips, toss her head back and guzzle the amber liquid down. Itachi choked then, his eyes glued to her throat; the way it moved as she swallowed. It was suddenly hard to breathe.

* * *

Three days had passed since Itachi had seen Sakura last, and he was going crazy. He was craving seeing her… craving so bad it made him restless and easily annoyed. _'I need to see her, but if I want to get past the withdrawal syndrome I seem to be experiencing, I need to hold off,' _he admitted grudgingly to himself. It was supposed to be her that was addicted to him, not the other way around, and Itachi cursed himself for getting attracted first. Her body language didn't suggest that she even found him attractive, which was not at all the norm for Itachi, and was strangely disheartening… and made him want her more. It was not only that that bothered him, but not knowing how receptive she was to Kakashi was annoying him more than he liked to admit. The man, for all his faults, was very good with people, which he, Itachi, was most definitely not.

He sat at the computer, the internet page opened to a movie-watching site, but nothing was grabbing his interest since there was only one thing, one _person _he really wanted to see, and Itachi found himself helplessly drawn to the Team 7 website. He needed to see her. He watched all the videos on the site, and it assuaged his need slightly, but not enough. Therefore it was no surprise that he readily accepted Sasuke's invitation to join Team 7 for karaoke the next night. He wanted to see her again; wanted to feel the pleasure that came with her touch again, however dangerous it was. What he had thought of was an addiction had been plain attraction, and now Itachi was feeling the real manifestation of the addiction he had thought he had. All he could think of was seeing her again. He scowled at the thought of Kakashi joining them, even though the man was not a threat to him.

Itachi pushed open the door to the KIS floor 7 lounge, taking a deep breath to calm his heart which was beating double time in anticipation of seeing Sakura again. His gaze had just connected with her, and he was just taking in how completely amazing she looked in the short green dress she was wearing when a familiar voice chafed across his ears. Mitarashi Anko. Damn it.

"Itachi," the woman called in her loud, somewhat unrefined voice. Itachi shut his eyes and sighed in annoyance, attempting to mentally prepare himself for the woman while turning to face her. When he opened his eyes, he realized he had not prepared himself well enough. Anko… She was wearing a mesh top that failed to adequately conceal her ample assets, having only a small black patch to cover certain areas to avoid getting thrown into jail for indecent exposure.

"Anko," he groaned. He'd hoped he would never have to see her again, what with their history. He tried not to notice how her… assets moved when she walked over to him, a large smirk on her face. "I had not thought I would see you a-" His statement was cut off when Anko flung her arms round his shoulders and smashed her mouth into his. They had parted amicably two years ago; he had been the one to initiate it, but he had denied Anko the parting kiss she had demanded because he knew she would only try to drug or seduce him back to her with it. In the end, she had made him promise that if she ever saw him again, he would allow her that one kiss, else she would chase him down for the rest of his life. His mouth remembered hers, they had been together all of six years, after all, and It wasn't until Itachi's hands instinctively pulled her closer and she was pressed up against him that he remembered…

_'Shit, Sakura… Anko… what the hell?'_ Itachi thought, jerking himself away from her, their mouths separating with a damp pop. Her lazy gaze met his and he could see the satisfaction his discomfort caused her.

"Even better than I remembered, Itachi-kun," she purred, and Itachi hated the shiver that ran down his back… he was over Anko, but she always did know what he liked, and she was gorgeous. Regardless, they had differences he wasn't willing to change his views on, and it would have made it impossible for coexistence between them to be happy in the long run. Itachi only grunted in reply before pushing her a safe distance away from him. He stuck his hands in his pockets and leaned back, with half a smile on his lips. He should be finally free of the woman now.

"I trust you will leave me alone now, Anko? Now that you have gotten that last taste of me that you wanted so badly…" He raised an eyebrow to peer at her. She shifted, and Itachi actually had to struggle to keep his eyes on her face. He knew what she was doing; she always used intercourse and seduction to get what she wanted and avoid confrontations or discussions she did not want to address, and Itachi was not going to be pulled into that again.

"That depends, Itachi," she mumbled, peering up at him through lowered eyelashes. "Do you still get a little excited by me?" she asked, clearly insinuating that if he _did_ she would not be leaving him be any time soon. Itachi groaned inwardly deciding that he had to avoid this question.

"Ludicrous. I initiated our parting, didn't I?" he stated in a flat tone. She smirked.

"Avoiding the question, Uchiha-_sama?_" she asked knowingly, grinning at the heat that rose to his neck at the honorific… she was the one that had discovered Itachi's liking of cosplay, as embarrassing as it was, and the honorific brought back very distinct memories. "You forget how long we were together, Itachi. You only avoid questions you don't want to answer." Itachi glowered. It did not faze her in the least. Instead, she walked up to him and stroked a slow path down his stomach, smiling at the way his abdominal muscles instinctively tightened in response. Itachi barely managed to squelch the rumble in his throat. "You know I wouldn't walk away from us," Anko continued. "Expect to see me around," she whispered, brushing past him. Itachi clenched his teeth… this was not good. He was over Anko… but she still had an effect on him it seemed, and she could potentially disrupt his current plans.

Itachi was so deep in thought he did not see the look Sakura gave him or the glint of respect in Kakashi's eyes. He had no time to either, for the door swished open behind him. Sasuke and Hinata walked in, their attraction to each other extremely obvious.

"Hello everyone, Itachi-san," Hinata said in her usual soft voice. Itachi smiled at her with his eyes; he liked what little he had seen of Hinata and was comfortable in her presence. The others greeted her, and Itachi noted with slight annoyance that Sakura seemed a bit cooler towards Hinata than she was with others. It was barely noticeable, but Itachi picked up on it.

They had just begun to converse, when the door opened again, and a slightly shorter than average red-haired man entered the lounge. His eyes were kohl darkened, and he had no eyebrows. He was very well dressed; more so than the average person. His eyes slowly swept over the occupants of the room and he quietly moved over to the rest of them.

"Sabaku no Gaara," Sasuke said, a slight grin on his face. "What brings you here?" Gaara blinked, his eyes passing over Sasuke, Naruto and Sai, and pausing for a moment on Sakura, before jerking to Kakashi and Hinata. However, when his eyes landed on Itachi, he stared at him for several awkward seconds. Itachi felt the frown on his face before he realized he was frowning. Who was this man?

"I need your presence in another of my shows, Uchiha-san," Gaara said absently to Sasuke, as if just remembering his purpose in coming. "I also think Hatake-san would fit the runway very well, if he keeps that mask on," the designer continued, his tone insinuating that he was not expecting either man to refuse. Itachi found the man's attitude lacking. His eyes drifted back to Itachi. "Who is this man?" he asked of Sasuke. Sasuke smirked as if knowing what Gaara's intent was.

"This is my brother, Uchiha Itachi," Sasuke said through a small smile. "Itachi, meet Sabaku no Gaara." Itachi leveled a blank look on the designer.

"Hn," he responded, knowing he was being rude, but not caring. The man had looked too long on Sakura.

"I presume you could lead the show, Itachi-san," Gaara said without bothering to acknowledge the introduction. Itachi was about to refuse when he caught a choked curse from Sakura. His eyes flitted to her and he noticed the look of barely veiled jealousy on her face. _'She wants to be in the show…'_ Itachi thought with a smirk.

"I presume so," Itachi agreed, enjoying the look of fury on the face of the pink haired drummer. This could be to his advantage.

* * *

Itachi was a lot less pleased half hour later when the group got to the karaoke lounge. Apparently, Kakashi was not his only competition to consider, for this Gaara person seemed to have an unhealthy attraction to Sakura. It pissed him off. Why was it that there were two men so far that he had to think of as competition in some sense? He was superior to both, but Kakashi was great with people and also Sakura's band leader, and Gaara had a strange charisma and Sakura wanted to be in his fashion show… then there was Anko, threatening to mess with his plans and that secret Sakura was holding up. It was far from Itachi to run from a challenge, but he liked to know the odds, and there was no telling how many more obstacles there would be.

"We will only laugh a little if you suck," Itachi heard Naruto say. They were trying to convince Sakura to sing. Now _that_ he wanted to hear. He had a feeling she would sing adorably off tune. Itachi watched Naruto flinch and chuckle as Sakura sent the microphone sailing mere inches past his head.

"Give it a go, Sakura-chan, or are you scared?" Kakashi taunted, winking at her. Itachi bristled slightly. _'I wish he wouldn't do that,' _Itachi groused inwardly. It was just the type of thing that people comfortable around other people did, and therefore not the sort of thing Itachi would do. It would just feel stupid. He would interact though, in order to hear her sing.

"She's scared," he deadpanned, watching her to gauge her reaction. As expected, her back stiffened and she grabbed the microphone from Kakashi. Itachi watched her toss her pink hair over her shoulder as she stomped on stage and approached the computerized panel for song selections. His eyes travelled down her gorgeous legs as she moved… oh that he would be in contact with those in the near future…

Itachi was so caught up with her legs that the soft voice coming from the karaoke lounge speakers surprised him. _'She can sing?' _ Itachi thought, with one eyebrow raised. He was impressed, because her voice was controlled and soft and breathy… and she was singing a very … ahem… amorous love song that voiced the sexual desires the singer wanted to be acted out. Itachi swallowed, all thoughts of Kakashi, Gaara and most importantly, Anko, going from his mind. He wanted this girl, and he wanted to do all the things she was singing in the song. He knew he would hear that voice in his dreams but he also knew that it would only spur his determination. He could only hold out for so long, and already the small sightings of Sakura here and there were not enough. He needed more. He was going to ask her out.

* * *

**So, the hint from the SasuHina chapter 10 was that there are more contenders for Sakura than Itachi originally thought… Kakashi and Gaara so far. Whatever will Itachi do? Fu fu fu! I am not particularly in love with this chapter (Admittedly it is below the level of my usual stuff), but it was more of a stepping stone into the rest of it, sort of… he needed to get serious, ne? Nevertheless, I would LOVE to know your thoughts, and I am soo sorry that I posted this up late!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Yes, I realize it has been MONTHS since my last update of this, but I had lost some well needed inspiration... sorry! Trying to regain the drift I had for this!**

* * *

He was not nervous. The mere implications of such a notion were almost hilariously off base. There was no way Sakura would turn down his invitation to dinner. Why then were his palms damp? It was a hot day, that was all. Itachi discreetly slid his hands into the pockets of his black cargo pants. Sasuke had gotten them for him. It would not have been something he would have chosen for himself, but he loved his little brother. He was going off on a tangent. Chalk it up to the inordinately long time she was taking to just say 'yes'.

He raised his brow. Her mouth was open, green eyes wide and pink brows raised. Itachi was patient... normally. This did not constitute a normal situation for him at all. And why did he feel like tiny flies were fluttering around in his stomach? It was not at all comfortable. It was much easier to deal with women that approached him of their own accord. That's how it had been with Anko. There were no shortage of women that approached him, but this time around, none of them were the one that he wanted.

"Uh... like, no, dude," she said finally, rolling her eyes and pushing past him. Itachi knew she would say- wait, what? No? Did she really just turn him down? Itachi scowled. He refused to accept this failure. He turned and caught her elbow in his grasp, forcing himself not to think about her soft skin.

"I will pick you up at eight," he said softly, making direct eye contact with her for a long moment before releasing her elbow and walking the short distance to his car. He disarmed and opened it remotely and slipped inside, relishing the cleanliness of the luxury car. He had just pulled the door shut and leaned forward to put the key in the ignition when a rapid tapping on his glass attracted his attention.

Sakura.

She looked angry. He smirked. He pressed the button to wind the window down and stared up at her, a patient expression on his face. He was beginning to think of her as a daruma doll. Every-time he pushed, she came back at him. It was amusing.

"No does not mean 'yes, thank you'. It actually means no," she said flatly, her displeasure, and something else, showing in her eyes. Itachi blinked up at her. He could not fail. He would not accept it.

He stared at her, not responding even though he would have liked to have said something.

"You..." she sputtered. "I am not going out with you," she continued, her eyes like liquid green fire.

"Why not?" Itachi asked flatly. "I know you want to, so it's not that," he declared, the sides of his mouth tilting upward so slightly it was debatable as to whether or not he was actually smiling.

"I have a date tonight," Sakura continued, folding her arms. Itachi scowled. "I may have time to share with you tomorrow night," she said, an amused glint touching her eyes. Before he could respond – he found himself at a loss for words, which was ironic since he rarely spoke – she flounced off to the KIS building. Itachi found himself, then, in a strange place emotionally. Irritation at her being on a date, elation at achieving his goal of getting her to go out with him, and jealous rage at the man who would have her attention tonight warred for dominance within him. Jealous rage won, and he gritted his teeth. He wanted all her attention.

He wanted all her attention, and he wasn't prepared to share any of it. He had just the way to get her to call off this date she thought she was going on with whichever man she thought she was going out with. Itachi turned the car back off and trotted to the KIS building.

Sakura was just getting into an empty elevator when he entered the lobby, and he ran to slide his hand between the doors just before they shut. She stared at him warily as he stepped in beside her, his arm almost brushing her shoulder. He tilted his head downwards, and blatantly stared at her. He wanted to kiss her. Badly

She didn't respond, but he would just give it time. She was bound to snap at him sometime soon. He knew she abhorred being stared at. Too bad for her, really, because he quite enjoyed staring at her. He enjoyed entertaining thoughts of taking her chin in his hand and crushing his mouth to hers. Thoughts of her hands in his hair as she responded to hi-

"What?" she snapped, disrupting his train of thoughts. She scowled at him, running a hand through her hair and her pink tongue over her teeth. Cute was not the word Itachi would choose to describe her. Not when the heat of desire brought on by her actions singed his insides.

"I am a little sorry for the guy you were going to go out with tonight," he said smoothly, not moving his gaze off her. His focus dropped to her mouth again, and then roved over her face. She really was a beautiful woman. The pink hair actually suited her. He would abhor it on anyone else. His gaze slid over her face and hitched on her lips... again. The temptation to just lean forward was pulsing through him more forcefully than he would have anticipated.

"Wh- what is that supposed to mean?" she asked curtly, turning to face him and placing one hand on her hip. Her eyes narrowed, flashing green fire. Itachi turned to face her as well, leaning forward so his face was only about seven inches from hers.

"Funny enough," he continued as if she hadn't spoken. "I am not at all sorry that you're going to turn down his invitation to come out with me tonight," he almost whispered. There was no need to speak loudly, especially not when his low tones seemed to get a rise out of her. Her agitation around him was strangely appealing to him. He liked the fact that she did not take a step back, but rather stood there, ready to butt heads with him. If only that would include their lips as well...

"Whatever would make you think that?" she smirked, tilting her head to the side. The movement sent a wave of her scent his way. She smelled wonderful. Itachi was not a weak man. He had exceptional self control. Usually. This time, however, he gave in.

One moment he was smirking at her. One moment, she was smirking back at him. The next moment... the next moment, he was kissing her. And she was kissing him back. Itachi had moved without the command of his will, but rather his desire. It was that rare moment when he did something he simply could not help doing. The _locus classicus _of involuntary action.

His lips crushed against hers and his fingers threaded her soft pink hair, Itachi's heartbeat accelerated to dangerous speeds. He kissed her almost savagely for a few moments, his tongue pushing its way into her mouth. It an action she met full on, and their hot heavy breaths warmed their cheeks and parted lips. Itachi abruptly softened his approach. He could tell he threw her off guard, but his mental processes were operating far below par at the moment and he absently promised himself an analysis of her reaction later.

Itachi pushed her up against the back of the elevator, his tongue expertly stroking hers. He didn't give her a chance to try to gain control. He was dominant, and that was it. He was the one that was supposed to be in control, and it would stay that way; it had to stay that way. He retracted his tongue before she could try to return the favour, only to send it darting back into her hot mouth so he could suck her tongue over into his. For a moment, only the damp sounds of their actions and their uneven breathing filled the elevator.

Sakura moaned softly, the sound sending a tingle down Itachi's spine. His breathing was becoming noticeably laboured, and that somehow annoyed Itachi, because it was a little beneath him to be so easily affected by anyone.

He dragged his mouth away from hers, sliding it to her ear, which he gave a gentle lick while he tried to regain control of his breathing. Her hands were fisted in his shirt at his shoulders, her neck tilted back, her chest pressed against his. Itachi would have smirked if his hand was not fisted in her hair, or his elbow resting on the elevator wall next to her head so that she was tucked against him, or if his heart wasn't beating so damned fast.

"Because," he whispered in answer to a question she had asked some time ago. "Because I am the one that can get you in Sabaku no Gaara's fashion show, and besides, I am far superior to any other man." He leaned away from her, pleased with the dark, clouded, wanting expression in her eyes.

He turned to stand beside her for the rest of the elevator ride. He could see her chest rising and falling rapidly out of the corner of his eyes and almost smiled. The elevator stopped at the seventh floor. Itachi fully expected Sakura to storm out of the elevator and give him ample time to recover proper control of himself; as it was he was barely holding on to his self control. He fully expected her to leave. No such luck. Sakura moved, as if going to the door, then she punched the numbers on the elevator panel. The doors slid shut and she turned around and faced him.

Her eyes dropped to his lips. Itachi gulped. He didn't have time to even process what she was doing before he was the one pressed against the back of the elevator, with her fingers threaded in his hair and her tiny hand gripping his side. She made direct eye contact with him for one short second before her sweet lips smashed against his.

Itachi didn't stand a chance. His above average IQ was rendered useless. His brain was assailed with desire so intense the simplest of thought processes (which would instigate an action such as breathing) failed to activate. His self control let itself out of the back door of his mind. He allowed himself to enjoy the pleasure coursing through him. His physical strength was of no use to him. In fact, his knees trembled slightly under his weight, not that he would ever admit it.

For seven seconds, Sakura was in full control. Seven seconds. That's all Itachi's rather prominent pride could stomach before it reared up within him enough for at least his motor senses to activate. His arms wrapped around her, and with record speed, he spun, slamming her back against the back of the elevator. And then he slanted his mouth over hers and pushed against her chest with his. Itachi rose to the challenge Sakura presented. He rose to the fight she taunted him into. As of right now, however, it was undecided exactly who would come out on top.

His entire body was humming with desire. His every vein was tingling with hungry heat and he held her to the elevator wall with his weight, the backs of his forearms planted flat on the wall on either side of her head. More. He wanted more. He moved to deepen the kiss and-

_Ding._ The elevator jerked to a halt. Itachi pulled away, ran a quick hand through his hair, and slid his tongue over his lower lip. Outwardly, he was his usual stoic self by the time the elevator door opened. Inwardly, he was a quivering, hungry, frustrated mess.

"See you tonight," he said quietly, stalking out into the lobby, brushing past the other people gathered at the elevator door. This time, there was no argument from the pink-haired female. Itachi got to his car before his hands began to shake. What the hell had just happened?

* * *

Itachi was still in a bit of a daze by the time he got home. He couldn't remember anything about the journey home, or even how he'd let himself inside his flat. His brain was consumed with memories of the kiss with Sakura. The sensation of her soft, wet tongue sliding against him refused to leave him, and he could still feel residual tingles from where her nails had scratched against his scalp.

Itachi's chest rose and fell at an accelerated pace as he sat in his sofa, staring unseeingly at the television in front of him. He could remember the wet heat of her mouth. The way her scent had wrapped around him. The smoothness of her skin. The way her hot breath had ghosted over his lips. Itachi ran a hand through his hair and took a deep breath. His plan had gone to hell today.

There was no way his plan could ever be feasible now. It was swiftly becoming apparent that he had no patience when it came to Sakura. None whatsoever. Itachi caught himself right there. He was giving up. In fact, he was _eagerly_ giving up. That would not do. No, that would not do at all. He needed another plan, and he needed one fast. And this time, he would stick to it.

* * *

**Short chapter, I know, but I suppose I will update quicker this time? Sorry if this chapter was below par! I need to get back into the groove of this story. That said, what did you think? Should I include a Sakura POV, or is it better as just Itachi's?**


	4. Chapter 4

**Oh noes! I have a good excuse this time! School projects and exam studies!**

**I have decided to include Sakura's POV, but the story in it's entirety will still be predominantly from Itachi's POV.**

**I am so sorry. You guys must be so annoyed with me... hrmmm... hopefully this chapter can make it up to you guys!**

**Lime alert. Not Lemon, Lime. This story is still T~!**

* * *

Sakura eyed the silvery dress in her closet. It was absolutely fantastic, but-

Hell no.

There was no way she was going to give in to that overconfident bastard. Who was he to tell her what she was and wasn't going to do? Sakura realized that her anger was ironic, since she _had _cancelled the date with Aoshiro, but at least she hadn't caved all the way! She had no intention whatsoever to go on a date with Uchiha Itachi tonight no matter how good looking the dark haired bastard was. Or how well he kissed, for that matter.

Hell no.

And if he wanted the date with her, he would have to work for it like all the other men who she went out with had to. Sakura raised one pink brow and slammed the closet door shut. She looked down at her attire. She was still wearing her shorts from band practice earlier that day but was in only her strapless bra rather than the tube-top she'd worn with the shorts. She looked too good for him to see, Sakura decided, so she went and had herself a shower.

"Hmm, what can I do to show you I am not a mat for you to walk over, Itachi-san?" Sakura mused out loud as she dropped her clothing in a careless heap on the bathroom floor. The pinkette stepped daintily into her shower and closed the glass shower-door behind herself. She was going to be as difficult as possible. Maybe if she kept on with her line of insults... but amplified them. Yes, that could work. Pretty soon, he would leave her alone. Well, maybe she wouldn't actually scare him off, since that would be pretty stupid. She would just have some fun, because she was most definitely _not _afraid of him.

Sakura grinned sadistically. She needed to find a way to make him royally pissed off, but charmed enough to stay anyway. Probably the elder Uchiha could distract her from his younger brother because she had to face it... Sasuke just didn't see her that way. His recent preoccupation with that grey-eyed _fan _was clue enough! The way Sasuke stared at Hinata... Sakura had never had anyone stare at her with that level of... _longing _before, and the thought pained her. Her smile slipped, and she realized that she'd been standing in the shower without actually bathing.

Shaking her head free of thoughts of Sasuke, Sakura forcefully yanked his older brother to the forefront of her mind. Yes. She could have some innocent or not-so-innocent fun with him. He was a big boy; he could take it. Plus no one was in love here, or anything. He'd just taken issue with the fact that she was not like the others and thought he could push her around. And all she wanted to show him was that, well, he couldn't.

Sakura switched on the shower, staying out of the spray until she decided it was warm enough, and allowed the water to cascade through her pink hair and down her bare body. Mmm. This was ridiculously good. Sakura lathered her loofah with her Sakura-blossom shower gel, finding it rather nice that her namesake had such a lovely scent, and then shampooed and conditioned her hair.

Stepping out of the shower some twenty minutes after entering, wet and smelling fresh and clean, Sakura towel-dried her hair before wrapping the large terry-cloth material around her slim body. She walked to her room, knowing she was leaving wet footprints on the tile, but not caring.

"Now, to find the perfect outfit for his Highness," Sakura muttered, a grin splitting her lips.

* * *

He had retrieved her address from Sasuke. It had only taken a well placed glare and a hint that his having Sakura's address might distract him away from Hinata and his little brother had caved. Easy.

Itachi pulled his car up at her gate and took a few moments to just look at her house. It was small and simple, but somehow elegant. She lived in a fairly nice neighbourhood, but her house was the smallest one. It pleased Itachi to know that she at least possessed some sort of logic, since it would probably have been rather illogical for her to live in a large house when she, according to Sasuke, lived alone. Being a _drummer _for a band, even if Sasuke was in it, could not have been any lucrative sort of position, so having some large expensive house would have been foolish.

Unlike him. _He _had the money and the status to warrant a large house, so he did have one. He'd bought it several years ago on the large salary he earned in his particular division of the army. They'd called it the Akatsuki; Red Dawn. Kisame, Deidara, Sasori, Tobi, Zetsu and himself had made up the advanced covert division, and their work was so precise and so intense that they were paid obscene amounts of money, if only to deter them from switching sides.

Added to that was the fact that Itachi was no idiot. He had known to invest his money wisely, and had a business set up and running on its own with a group of rather talented managers and staff. Then there was his family money to include as well.

Itachi smirked as he parked and got out of the car. He turned it off and armed it remotely as he walked up Sakura's paved driveway. He absently wondered what Sakura was going to wear on their date, mulling over the possibilities as he knocked thrice on the front door.

She could be wearing something tight that bared her shoulders beautifully like her outfit earlier had... Or perhaps something that showed her legs, therefore something nice and short. Maybe she would wear something flowy, that swished around her when she walked... and probably she would wear-

The door swung open.

Ratty shorts and a thin, seemingly perforated tank top?

Itachi frowned.

"Oh, hi there, Itachi-san," Sakura said, smiling up at him from the now open doorway. "What brings you here on this fine night?"

Itachi found himself rather unable to speak. Upon a closer look, he noticed the fresh, clean look to her skin, and the way her damp hair curled in darker pink ringlets around her face... and how creamy and smooth her legs looked coming from those silly shorts... and part of her shoulder, with its tiny freckles was bare for him to see.

He rather liked how she looked.

Not to mention, she looked natural and comfortable.

But then he frowned. She wasn't planning to wear _that _on their date, was she?

"What, you don't like my outfit?" Sakura asked, her pink brows rising. It was then that Itachi realized that he'd voiced his last thought. He had not meant to do that. That thought was meant to stay secure and sealed within his mindspace. To him, it was becoming more and more obvious that Sakura's presence somehow affected him since other women would never get him to say something he did not want to say. He _never _said anything he didn't mean to. Even though rattled, Itachi plowed on.

"It's... not suitable for where I am taking you," he said, trying to answer without actually admitting that he thought she looked rather delicious in her home clothes.

"You are taking me somewhere?" Sakura asked, gasping in apparent surprise. "I didn't know that," the pinkette went on. Itachi felt his brows pulling together.

"We are going on a date," Itachi said, wondering what was going on with her.

"We _are?" _Sakura breathed, resting her hand against her chest... which drew Itachi's attention to the twin mounds hidden behind her flimsy top. "I thought I told you that I was busy tonight, and that I wouldn't be going on a date with you..." she added, looking up at him with slightly mischievous green eyes. Itachi scowled.

What was she playing at? Did she really mean... Had he not been able to convince her to... Itachi stood in stunned silence for a good five seconds before he decided that _this _ploy or whatever she was cooking up, would not deter him.

"This date you supposedly had, he is coming here... with you dressed like _that?_" Itachi asked, satisfied that his voice was just as even as ever. Sakura looked down at herself. A short giggle slipped from her lips before she looked up at him with a rather naughty smile.

"I cancelled it. I decided that I wanted to spend time at home... alone, to... well..." she paused, giving him a meaningful look. "Do secret things," she whispered, giving him a shady wink. Itachi knew his eyes widened at her insinuations. Did she mean she wanted to... perhaps... _touch herself_? The thought alone made Itachi's mouth dry and his body warm.

Damn.

"I told you that you wouldn't be dating him," Itachi returned, a little surprised at the evenness of his tone. If he did not know himself, he would have thought that he wasn't the least bit affected by her suggestive statement.

"Well... that was no fault of yours," Sakura said breezily, waving her hand lightly in the air as if dismissing the notion completely. Itachi frowned. "I decided that all on my own. Had nothing at all to do with you." Itachi raised one brow.

"Nothing indeed," he murmured, loud enough for her to hear. She scowled up at him from her place in the doorway.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" she asked, straightening and folding her arms. Ah, the ever used sign of protection of the body. The folding of the arms was a sign Itachi saw a lot when the people he interrogated were feeling the heat and wanted to protect themselves. Folding the arms was a result of a psychological reflex when threatened.

"After our lip-lock in the elevator, it is no wonder you need to stay home to... do secret things," Itachi replied evenly, liking how worked up she was getting. A healthy blush surged to her cheeks and her emerald eyes glittered with anger and irritation.

"Listen here, you bastard," she snarled, jabbing her forefinger into the centre of his suited chest. Itachi did not give her the chance to finish her sentence. With movements too quick for her to avoid, he grabbed her wrist, used it to yank her to him, and then pressed his mouth against her open one. He slid his hands around her, pushing up the back of her loose, faded blue tank top to palm the flesh above her shorts. Her skin was soft and delightfully warm underneath his slightly calloused hands. It was smooth and she smelled distinctly of cherry blossoms; he could tell she had just showered. He ran his hands along the flawless skin on her upper arms, itching to dig his fingers into the soft skin, but he didn't because he had to stay in control.

He'd have to try and stay dominant this time. He'd use this kiss to get himself inside her house, and, since she was making every effort, it seemed, to avoid going out with him tonight, he would make every effort to stay in her house until he decided to go later down in the night. He had come up with a plan. He would take up as much of her time as was possible, and then, when she started to get used to his presence, he would leave her. However, he wouldn't wait on her to come to him, since he had a feeling she would stay away just to spite him, so he would come back to her, and act as if nothing happened. She would be so happy to have him back that he would undoubtedly win her affections.

Itachi pressed his mouth firmly against hers, still holding a bit of a grudge for that stunt she'd pulled in the elevator. She deserved to be punished for that. She needed to know who was the dominant in this relationship. It was him. Not her.

She resisted, but he knew it was a token effort because her body was relaxed... she just wasn't responding. If she thought that would deter him, she was horribly wrong. Itachi smirked against her lips and yanked her into his arms, melding her body against his. Itachi pushed her backwards, slamming the door behind him with one swipe of his hand. She just stood there, but Itachi knew that all he had to do was get her a _little _hot and bothered, and she would respond, if only to assert herself. That's what he was counting on.

Itachi slid his lips from her unglossed mouth to her cheek, nose, forehead, temple, and then her ear. He breathed softly against the china-like shell of her ear, finding her scent most pleasing. The coolness of her skin prompted the assumption that she had just showered, and her wet, fragrant hair reiterated this. His body was very pleased by the overall result.

Itachi extended his tongue, the warm wet organ licking her ear. He blew gently into her ear and then sucked the lobe gently, working his tongue around it. He nipped on the edge teasingly, only making it painful enough to please. She gasped softly from pleasure and he smirked. He knew this would work. Sure enough, when he slid his lips closer to hers, they parted, her warm breath brushing his cheek. Teasing her, he instead dropped his lips to her chin and proceeded to nibble and suck gently.

"Bastard," she whispered, and before he knew it, her hands were in his hair, yanking his head upwards, and then she was kissing him... it was _extremely_ satisfying.

He allowed her to enter his mouth without complaint, but only to get her tongue there where he could have his way with it. He curled his tongue smoothly around hers, sucking on it roughly. She withdrew her tongue quickly, the wet muscle retreating quickly into her own mouth, but his darted forwards just as quickly in undeterred pursuit. He wanted to moan... or groan... or _something_ because the need to have some sort of release was building up inside his body, and even though he took breaths to keep kissing her, his throat was straining with the pressure of restraint.

He would not make a sound until she did.

Itachi flicked his tongue over her teeth and against the inside of her cheek, exploring her mouth thoroughly. He trailed his tongue in the space between her lips and teeth, sliding it over, under and around her tongue, working at her until a low moan slipped from her throat.

Finally.

Itachi allowed a small answering moan and felt that just making the sound felt so good. It was almost heady. He was clutching her firmly to him by now, and her arms had slid down to loop around his neck.

Itachi pulled away, forcing his breathing under control.

"Are these things _secret _enough for you, Sa-ku-ra-chan?" Itachi murmured, allowing his breath to warm her ear. Her chest was heaving as she too struggled to get her breathing under control. Itachi smirked. There were many times when in intense situations where he found it necessary for the continuation of his life to forcibly control his breathing. He found the ability to be a rather remarkable tool in this case, because he could tell it annoyed her to no ends that he was able to control his breathing before she did.

"Shut up, coward," she snapped, pulling away from him. She had a rather evil little glint in her eyes that dared him to come forward and touch her again. Never one to back down from a challenge, Itachi stalked forward, his eyes narrowed.

"I am not a coward," Itachi said flatly. He watched her smirk. What was she up to?

* * *

Sakura felt satisfaction course through her. She had a method of payback up her nonexistent sleeves, and she was not afraid to use it. She just needed to goad him into the perfect position and hope that he was too stunned to react before she was through with him.

"Yes, you are a coward," Sakura said smartly, her green eyes meeting his obsidian gaze defiantly. "You realized that you liked kissing me too much, so you _had _to back away before you lost your mind," she taunted, planting her hands on her hips and staring him down. She saw by the tiny flare of his eyes and the instant shuttering of his face that she'd been right on target. Good.

"That was not the case at all. You're just sulking because I ended it before you wanted me to. You were hungry for more," Itachi shot back, his eyes narrowed as he advanced. Sakura backed slowly away, leading him so that his back was to the couch. She figured that he'd canvassed the area, but was not certain, what with his tongue down her throat and all. Okay, she was making it sound repulsive when it was anything but, but she needed to keep her head in the game.

"What did you say?" she asked squaring her shoulders and standing off. He stopped right in front of her, so close before her that she could feel his body heat against her chest.

"I said," Itachi snarled, "you were hungry for more." The little gleam in his eyes, however, told her that he liked this. This fighting for dominance. Well, she was taking advantage of it.

"Damn straight I was," she said, hating that she had to admit it, but willing to do it to throw him off guard. It worked, and when his eyes flared in surprise, Sakura plowed into him, sending his rear crashing into the seat of the sofa with a 'whump'. His arms wrapped around her in his descent, dragging her down with him. Sakura landed on his lap, her chest pressed against his stomach, her face near his throat and her body draped between his legs.

Her knees just a few inches above the ground, Sakura wriggled a little, sliding downwards until her knees hit the carpet. Sakura was aware of how the situation looked. As she was, she was kneeling between his legs, with her hands resting lightly against his hips. When she slid her palms slowly, languidly up his thighs, she felt his entire body stiffen. His thighs hardened, and he slid further back into the couch to prevent her hands from touching the area between his legs_. _

_Even though she knew he wanted her to._

Sakura smirked, dragging her hands back down to his knees. She watched his fingers clench and his eyes darken with both sensuality and indecision. She could tell he was completely unsure of what she might do. Sakura moved her hand so that her knuckles rubbed against the side of his slightly hardened crotch. She pressed her cheek to this inside of his warm thigh, lifting her gaze so that she met his eyes.

"I love this material that your trousers are made from, Itachi-san," Sakura murmured huskily, before rising to her feet, and leaving a really pissed off Uchiha on the sofa.

* * *

**HOHO! Let the battle begin, ne! To all who like slightly antagonistic couples and citrus...! (^_^) So this has a rather weak plot, it's purely for our guilty pleasures, fufufufu! There will probably be something soon to make it deeper as its not a PWP, but it won't be anything as emotionally rigged as my other stuff! Please leave me generous reviews (^_^)! Suggestions welcome!**


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